[A/N: Hello everyone.
Alex continues trying to survive this chaotic day, and by chance (through the power of the plot), he meets more characters.
Comment and donate power stones.]
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In the central part of the northern sector of the city.
Bzzz.
A high-pitched sound reverberated in Joel's ear. This seemed to be his most feared enemy, as he felt it wanted to maliciously destroy his mind. With great effort, he began to look around, disoriented; not only was his hearing failing, but his vision didn't seem to be functioning properly either.
In the background, sirens, raised voices, a few explosions, and the roar of cars crashing into each other could be heard.
"Wait a minute", Joel thought, trying to regain his senses. "An accident?", he pondered uneasily.
He quickly turned around to look for his daughter. Sarah was lying unconscious, with several injuries to her face from the glass from the accident and a significant wound on her leg. Joel moved to the back seat where Sarah was, and began to help her peel the glass away from her face.
"Sarah, are you okay?", Joel asked, frowning, holding back tears.
Sarah began to move slowly, scrunching her face as she felt the pain in her leg, and looked at her father fearfully. Both, completely oblivious to what was happening around them, shared that moment of vulnerability.
"It hurts", Sarah said as tears began to slide down her face.
"I know, dear. You must be strong, we'll be out of here soon and get you treated", Joel said, trying to smile, using the calmest tone he could.
"Joel, are you okey?", Tommy asked from outside the truck.
"I'm fine, but Sarah... she has a leg injury", Joel replied. "What's happening around her?", Joel asked worriedly as he looked around.
"It's a mess, Joel", Tommy replied, looking toward an unexpected sound. "The guy who hit us is in his car assaulting what appears to be his wife. There's looting, and these disturbed people are attacking others... We must go", Tommy said anxiously. "Okay… Help me get Sarah out", Joel replied as he hurriedly stood up.
The two of them carefully carried Sarah out, who tried not to complain about the pain the movement caused her. Joel carried Sarah on his back, handing his gun to Tommy.
They started running as fast as they could. They avoided some people fleeing the area; some criminals approached, but when they realized they were armed, they stayed away.
Suddenly, a group of zombies began to gather in the streets, blocking their way. Tommy signaled to Joel, and they headed toward one of the nearby stores. However, as they approached, Joel accidentally tripped over a bottle, and it shattered.
Although the sound of a bottle breaking shouldn't have had much impact amid all the noises around them, that specific noise attracted the attention of a group of zombies, who decided that Joel, Sarah, and Tommy would be their next victims.
"Run!", Tommy exclaimed to Joel, as Joel prepared to fire his rifle, or perhaps just intimidate the attackers.
"If necessary, aim for the head", Joel commented in a tired tone.
Joel ducked into the store, looking for a back exit. The clutter inside made his movement difficult. After a minute, he managed to find one. However, at that moment, gunshots rang out from the front entrance.
"Tommy, are you okay?", he asked worriedly.
"Yes, I'm fine", Tommy replied, breathing heavily. "God forgive me", he thought, feeling his hands shaking as he held his rifle.
"I found a way out, let's leave right away", Joel said, realizing the situation was getting more complicated.
"You go ahead first. I'll hold them off for a moment", Tommy instructed from the doorway.
"Okay. Be careful", Joel replied, as Sarah raised her hand with all her might, waving goodbye to Tommy.
Joel walked out the back door, carrying Sarah in his arms, through some alleyways until he reached an open area. Every sound made his skin crawl; he felt on full alert. When he reached the open space, he breathed a sigh of relief. However, luck was not on his side, as a group of zombies was heading toward them, advancing slowly but menacingly.
"It can't be", Joel thought as he composed himself and mustered his last strength.
"Stop!", a man's voice suddenly shouted.
"They're chasing us. I think they're sick", Joel explained, feeling relieved to realize it was a soldier.
"Don't move", the soldier ordered, aiming at his weapon.
Joel stood on guard, startled by the soldier's action, and tightly held Sarah, who was now in his arms. However, the soldier turned his weapon on the zombies following them and opened fire, shooting them in the head. All the bodies feel lifeless.
"Private Gump, what was that?", a voice asked through the soldier's earpiece.
"Sir, I encountered a group of infected attacking civilians. I had to eliminate them", the soldier replied.
"Are you speaking with your superior officer?", Joel thought as he watched the soldier communicate on the radio.
"How are the civilians? Do they have any injuries?", his superior officer inquired.
"They're fine… although the child is injured", the soldier clarified, looking at Sarah in Joel's arms.
"Private Gump, you already know the protocol for those who have been attacked. If she is injured, you must eliminate her to prevent the spread of the virus", his superior officer ordered in a cold tone.
"But sir, she's just a child, and we're not even sure she's infected", the soldier tried to reason with his superior officer.
"Are they commenting on Sarah?", Joel wondered worriedly as he prepared to flee, his legs trembling from the exhaustion of his recent escape.
"Private Gump, this is an instruction. Return to the group immediately after completing that matter", the voice came through the earpiece.
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[A/N: What would you do?]
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The soldier, although annoyed by his superior's order, raised his weapon anyway. Joel watched as the soldier finished his conversation with his superior and now pointed it at him and Sarah. Joel was terrified; he wanted to run away, but his legs wouldn't follow his orders.
"She's just a child", Joel tried to plead with the soldier.
"I'm sorry… I must do this", the soldier said, his hands shaking.
The soldier was also at a crossroads. It wasn't his decision to do it; it was his orders. While in a normal situation he would have refused his superior's request, in recent days he had seen some of his comrades die at the hands of the infected due to negligence or human error. He knew that if the child was infected, bringing her to the shelter could ruin everything; she would infect others, and those people would infect others.
"Sorry", the soldier said again, taking a deep breath as he pointed at Joel and Sarah.
"Soldier, you better put your gun down", said a man who appeared behind the soldier. "I don't think that girl is a threat", he added in a confident voice as he pointed a gun at the soldier's head.
20 minutes earlier.
"This is getting out of hand very quickly", Gerry commented, surprised by the chaos on the streets.
"Yes, the thing is, this virus has been raging for several days", Alex commented as he drove very cautiously. "The soldiers and the police tried to contain this as much as they could, but the situation got out of hand", Alex added as he looked around carefully.
"I see", Gerry commented casually.
They continued driving in the car they had obtained earlier, while looking for a route to reach the northeast part of the city. They took this detour because Alex frequently traveled these routes for his job as a truck driver, and he knew they could get there by avoiding the army checkpoints.
"We're close, just turn right and we'll get there..." Alex said when he saw in his rearview mirror a pickup truck colliding in the distance.
Alex stopped the car for a moment and looked out at his window at the accident. He saw the car that hit the pickup crash into a wall while the pickup truck spun a couple of times, colliding with an abandoned car and then overturning.
"We have to go help them", Alex said, staring at Gerry.
"He's fine", Gerry said ironically. "He has a habit of saving people who've been in car accidents", Gerry thought, remembering how Alex had helped him and his family.
Alex slowly reversed between the abandoned cars. It took a couple of minutes, and when they reached the scene, a man could be seen in the distance carrying an injured girl while another man followed them. The three arrived at a store but were surrounded by zombies.
"Let's help them", Alex said as he accelerated the car and rammed into a group of zombies.
After arriving near the store, they both quickly got out of the car and began helping the man who was shooting from the entrance. Alex took care of those on the man's right, while Gerry took out those on the left. After only a minute, the three of them killed all the zombies near the store.
"Whoa… Thanks… You saved me… I'm Tommy", the grateful man said as he caught his breath.
"I'm Alex, and this is Gerry", Alex introduced himself to him and Gerry. "What about the other man and the girl?", Alex asked as he looked around the empty store.
"They came out the back door… We should go help them", Tommy asked, looking pleadingly at Alex and Gerry.
"I'll follow on foot. You guys go in the car", Alex said decisively, pointing at the zombies approaching from the sound of gunfire.
Without waiting for answers from anyone, Alex entered the store and left through the back door. There was no one around, although there were traces of blood leading north. For a moment, Alex felt stupid for not asking Tommy where they were going.
"I guess they're going to the alternate route", Alex thought, remembering that the truck they were in was heading in the same direction he and Gerry had taken.
Alex took a shortcut, not knowing if this was the path they had taken, but knowing that with every passing second, those people could be in danger. After walking a little further, he came to an open field. Gunshots were heard to his right, and he walked quickly toward it.
"That's them", he thought when he saw a soldier talking on the radio with his superiors.
Alex approached them slowly, without attracting any attention. Just as he was a few meters from the soldier, he heard the last part of the conversation and knew immediately that he had been ordered to kill the wounded girl. He quickly approached the soldier's back, who was talking to the man holding the girl. From the soldier's demeanor and his hesitation, Alex knew he wasn't a bad person; he was just a soldier following orders.
"I have to stop him", Alex thought, alarmed, preparing to intervene.
"Soldier, you'd better lower your weapon", Alex said firmly from behind the soldier. "I don't think that girl is a threat", Alex added, pointing his weapon at his head.
"Civilian... you're interrupting a... military deployment", the soldier said, trying to sound confident, but his stuttering gave him away.
"I understand you're taking orders, soldier, but I don't think you've checked the girl's wound", Alex commented as he stood next to the soldier. "The girl wasn't bitten... She was injured in a car accident a few minutes ago", Alex explained, using his free hand to slowly lower the soldier's weapon.
"Is that true?", the soldier asked Joel. "I almost killed innocent people", the horrified soldier thought.
"That's right", Joel replied in a sullen tone.
"See, there's no reason to kill the girl", Alex said, a little more relaxed by the soldier's reaction. "By the way, I'm sorry for aiming at your head. I just wanted to save innocent people", Alex added, embarrassed.
"I understand", the soldier replied, dismissing Alex's action; rather, he was grateful to him. "He knows about the virus", the soldier thought, only just realizing that the man who had stopped him had mentioned the bites.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Thanks everyone for reading.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
There are a few more chapters coming in the same style.
Read my other novel called Vinland Kingdom: Race Against Time.
You can find it on my profile.]